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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26726629">with these blood-stained hands, i'll hold yours</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/meowjunhwi/pseuds/meowjunhwi'>meowjunhwi</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SEVENTEEN (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambiguous Relationships, M/M, Murder Mystery, based on Going Seventeen: BAD CLUE episode, the other members are just mentioned, the tags are a mess lmao, tw for mentions of blood death and violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 09:01:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,980</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26726629</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/meowjunhwi/pseuds/meowjunhwi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Gentle smile was gone in a flash, replaced by a ruthless smirk.</p>
<p>"You're the boss, Minghao. I'm just here to pull all the strings you need to put your plan into action."</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Wen Jun Hui | Jun/Xu Ming Hao | The8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>with these blood-stained hands, i'll hold yours</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi! So it's been about two days since the new Going Seventeen episode and I'm having such a blast with finding clues and solving the mystery lmao I love reading the theories of the other fans in twitter too! </p>
<p>This fic is inspired by a fanart I saw of Minghao and Junhui meeting up before the events set in the episode, and I thought aha if Cheol and Chan allegedly met up before the Party, what's stopping Junhui and Minghao from doing it as well? And my friend (hello aima) suggested I write a fic, so after so much thinking last night about the episode, here is the fic that I had written while I'm half-asleep yet determined to get it done.</p>
<p>This is set BEFORE the events of BAD CLUE, so the other members will only be mentioned in passing.</p>
<p>ALSO!! V, v important. <br/>Trigger warning: Blood, Death and Violence. </p>
<p>To those who will be reading, pls feel free to tell me what you think about it in the comments below!! I'd appreciate them a lot &lt;3 Thank you and enjoy!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was in the middle of the day when a car pulled to a stop in the driveway of the Park estate. The family butler steps forward to open the door and a man steps out, dressed lavishly in a three-piece beige suit, topped with a plaid coat that he simply let hang on his shoulders.</p>
<p>“Good day, Vice President Xu. Chairman Park has been waiting for you,” the butler informs the newly-arrived, “He is in the study along with Vice Chairman Choi and President Park. Should I direct you on your way?”</p>
<p>The man shakes his head slightly, adjusting his gold-framed glasses on the bridge of his nose, “It’s okay. I can manage.”</p>
<p>“As you wish, sir,” the butler bows, “The refreshments will be brought shortly.”</p>
<p>The man merely bows his head in thanks before he strides down the carpeted hallways of the Park mansion with a certain familiarity in his steps..</p>
<p>He turns a right and stops in front of a white door, pressing down on the golden handle and pushing it open. He was met with a wide room in brown and beige tones, and four gentlemen waiting inside in tensed silence.</p>
<p>Seated behind the large wooden desk in the middle is the Chairman and Park family head himself and in front of him were Vice Chairman Choi Seungcheol and President Park Seokmin, the Chairman’s son.</p>
<p>An unfamiliar face stands next to Chairman Park, and this must be the alleged new member of this small and tight-knit circle— the very circle that Xu Minghao had worked his way to be a part of.</p>
<p>“Minghao,” Chairman Park greeted him. He bows down respectfully in return then closes the door behind him and walks closer until he is standing beside the cushioned chair that Seokmin is occupying.</p>
<p>“Now that we’re all here, I want to introduce to you my other son, Park Jeonghan. He will be working with BSK starting today. I hope all of you treat him well,” Chairman Park stands and claps the man, Jeonghan, on the shoulder after he introduced him to the small crowd of three, a proud smile on his face as if he is showing off his most prized possession.</p>
<p>Vice Chairman Choi was the first to stand up and offer his hand out to Jeonghan, who shyly shook his hand as he bowed in greeting. <em>Ever the charmer, Vice Chairman</em>, Minghao internally comments.</p>
<p>Seokmin’s face was unreadable, but Minghao knew him well enough to know that he is internally sneering at his father and his obvious favoritism to the other son, someone that Minghao had only known the existence of at that moment. He pretends not to be shocked and files the little bit of information at the back of his mind for further research later.</p>
<p>“Welcome to the family, Jeonghan,” Seokmin plastered a wide and pleasant grin on his face, “I'm sure we’ll get along just fine.” Seokmin and Jeonghan shake hands and then it was Minghao’s turn to introduce himself.</p>
<p>“Xu Minghao, Vice President of BSK. I’m looking forward to working with you, Jeonghan-ssi,” it was all for formalities and pleasantries really. Minghao learned early on to tread carefully in dangerous waters. Jeonghan smiles at him, small and not entirely genuine at all, and replies, “I’ll be in your care then, Mr. Xu.”</p>
<p>The door opens and the family butler comes in, pushing a tray filled with a plate of chocolate biscuits and another plate of maple scones, along with the Park family’s floral tea set that Minghao had already been familiar with from his past visits.</p>
<p>The butler sets them down on the coffee table just in front of the study desk, and the five men transferred to the couches where they could eat while conversing within themselves comfortably.</p>
<p>“Earl Grey tea,” the butler announced as he poured the steaming hot liquid on each of their cups and placed it in front of them.</p>
<p>“The maple scones and the chocolate biscuits are those that Mingyu and Doctor Jeon had brought back from their London trip.”</p>
<p>“What time did they arrive?” Chairman Park asks after he took a sip from his cup.</p>
<p>“At around half an hour before 10 o’clock this morning, Sir,” the butler replied dutifully. Chairman Park just nodded before he dismissed him with a wave of his hand. The butler bows and makes his exit, and then it was just the five of them sitting around a coffee table. The air was stuffy and Minghao knows everyone in that room is just pretending to want to be there when each of them is already itching to leave.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“I’ll see you in the office on Monday,” Seokmin bids him as he gets inside his car. Minghao simply nods and watches as Seokmin’s car drives away.</p>
<p>“Your ride is here, Sir,” the butler calls for his attention, opening the backseat door for him. Minghao enters the car without sparing him a look and sighs when he feels the soft leather of the car seat on his back.</p>
<p>The door closes and then his car moves out of the driveway, exiting the tall and looming gates of the Park estate.</p>
<p>It is the weekend, and he should be relaxing in his penthouse suite— a wine glass on one hand and a paintbrush on another— but there have been new developments on that day alone, important developments that he needs to take note of, so he has some research to do on his own.</p>
<p>His newly bought bottle of wine and his empty canvas could wait for another week or so.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Minghao sits on a table for two in the back of a cafe, dressed simply in a plain black shirt and grey track pants, a bucket hat sitting on top of his head and a book opened in his hands.</p>
<p>Every now and then, he will take a sip from his cup of tea, his eyes remaining glued to the pages of his book, not wanting to miss even just a word of what was about to happen.</p>
<p>Too focused, he didn't hear the soft jingle of the bell as the cafe door opened, the new customer greeted brightly by the staff standing behind the counter.</p>
<p>He wouldn't even notice the figure standing by his table if said figure didn't sit in front of him, jostling the tea and consequently snapping Minghao out from his hyper-focused state.</p>
<p>He glared at the man now sitting opposite him, and was about to berate him about how he could’ve just talked to alert Minghao of his presence when the man placed a brown envelope in the middle of the table.</p>
<p>Minghao doesn’t need to ask what the contents of the envelope are. He knows it is the information that he had been wanting to know so badly ever since the events of yesterday in the Park estate. He doesn’t even need to ask to be given the information he needs because it will be handed over to him without fanfare. It was as if the man knows what runs inside Minghao’s mind with just a look, and Minghao learned after the third time of being handed an envelope, that there’s no need to question it. He gets what he wants, for the price of nothing but the man’s trust and loyalty.</p>
<p>Minghao slides the envelope towards himself and holds it, stares at it. The desire to open it makes his fingers twitch but he knows he should wait until he is in the privacy and safety of his home without any prying eyes nor ears.</p>
<p>He looks at the man before him and raises an eyebrow, “Aren’t you supposed to be watching over your boss or attending to the house duties or something?”</p>
<p>The man just shrugs, “Mingyu wanted me to buy him coffee, he didn’t say where. And there are no other people in the estate, so Mingyu convinced me to go out shopping with him.”</p>
<p>“And here you are, meeting with me in a coffee shop inside a famous and crowded mall where we can easily be spotted together and considered suspicious.”</p>
<p>The man smirks at him, “Would you rather I meet you in the privacy of your house, Mr. Xu?”</p>
<p>Minghao clicks his tongue, displeased, “Shut up, Wen.”</p>
<p>Wen Junhui just laughs at him, making Minghao roll his eyes at the Park family butler.</p>
<p>“All that you need to know is in there,” Junhui gestures with his chin towards the envelope in Minghao’s grasp. “The final list is included as well. Just say the word and everything shall move according to your plan.”</p>
<p>Minghao nods, studying the man in front of him.</p>
<p>It had been almost two years since Wen Junhui had caught him sneaking around the Park estate. He was prepared to get blood on his hands that night when the butler saw him fiddling with the locked drawer in the private study of Chairman Park, feeling the heavy weight of the knife in the inner pocket of his coat, burning against his chest.</p>
<p>But Junhui just turns a blind eye, directs him to the secret door that allowed Minghao a safe and undetected exit when Chairman Park was moments away from catching him himself.</p>
<p>Since then, the information that Minghao needs has come easy. Envelopes are sometimes mailed to his apartment, handed to him as they pass each other in crowded streets or as they briefly sit together in the middle of a crowded diner. And then, once Minghao has familiarized himself with the amount of information he had read, knowing each and every one of them by heart, the papers are burned so as not to leave even a single piece of evidence of their exchanges.</p>
<p>Wen Junhui knows everything and he decided to help Minghao, decided to put his trust in him to do what he plans to do, even with the risk that Minghao could betray him at the last minute, discard him to the side after he had been fully-exploited as a means to an end.</p>
<p>“Junhui,” Minghao calls for him, making Junhui pause as he is about to stand up and leave. Their meetings were always just like that— strictly business, no more than the usual handing over of envelopes and small bouts of information that can safely be said out loud without attracting onlookers.</p>
<p>Sometimes, Minghao wonders, should they be born and raised in a different way that they were now, would he and Junhui have been good friends?</p>
<p>“Where does your loyalty lie, Junhui?” Minghao asks him, eyes unwavering as he keeps his gaze on him.</p>
<p>“Park Junki,” Junhui answers without hesitation.</p>
<p>“Why help me then? When I’m trying to bring his family down?”</p>
<p>The corner of Junhui’s lips quirk up in a slight smile, “There’s too much corruption and dark secrets in this family. And you have the ambitious drive to be able to do what other people I’ve known are scared to do so. With that, I trust you.”</p>
<p>“I literally climbed up the ranks of the corporation by stealing other people’s merits,” Minghao tells him matter-of-factly.</p>
<p>“I know,” Junhui answers simply. And of course he knows, Junhui knows everything that happens in the Park family and anything else related to them. It isn’t that difficult for him to figure out how and why Minghao is where he is right now. Hell, it wasn’t hard for him to figure out what Minghao had been planning to do all along. And now here he is, sitting opposite him and trying to help him do it. If it weren’t for Junhui, Minghao would’ve been long dead by now because there is no way Chairman Park would keep him alive after knowing what he is after.</p>
<p>“They’re not as clean-slate as you think they are,” Junhui adds, “Plus, why do you think they’d been quiet all this time?” Minghao blinks at what Junhui is trying to convey, not expecting it in the slightest that the man could’ve blackmailed other employees to shut their mouths and pave the way for Minghao’s rise in the corporate ranks.</p>
<p>Maybe he had already been working with Minghao long before Minghao had been aware of it. </p>
<p>Junhui reaches across the table and puts his hand on top of Minghao’s, squeezing it softly. Minghao looks at their hands, then he looks up to meet his eyes, and sees a genuine smile on the butler’s face, a stark contrast to his usual cold and expressionless demeanor.</p>
<p>It makes Minghao calm down a little.</p>
<p>“What you’re about to do, it’s going to weigh a lot. After all, you can’t rebuild an empire without shedding even the tiniest drop of blood. But I’m here to carry the sin with you, until we both die and burn in hell for it.”</p>
<p>Junhui’s words strangely brought him a sense of comfort. Maybe it was the assurance that Junhui will stand by him through whatever crime they are about to commit and the genuine tone of his voice that Minghao finds himself believing and trusting when in the first place, he shouldn’t.</p>
<p>“Alright,” he tells himself softly. Then loudly towards Junhui, “Alright. I’ll give you a heads up if everything is already in order. Then we can set the plan in motion.”</p>
<p>Junhui’s gentle smile was gone in a flash, as if it was never there in the first place, replaced with a ruthless smirk, “You’re the boss, Minghao. I’m just here to pull all the strings you need to put your plan into action.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Junhui remembers the first meeting.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>In Chairman Park’s private study on the third floor of the Park family mansion. Red carpeted floors and dim lights. In the middle stands a man, rigid, hand reaching up for what must be his weapon tucked in the pocket of his coat. Blazing fire in his eyes, ambition and desire. Those flames, Junhui knows, will be the very flames that will consume a crumbling empire and build a new one in its place. </em>
</p>
<p>
  
  <em>“Junhui!” Chairman Park’s voice breaks over the tense silence, making the other man in the room jerk violently. </em>
</p>
<p>
  
  <em>“A moment, Sir,” Junhui calmly replies back as he walks towards a side of the room where a secret passage will lead to the back of the estate, unguarded and no security cameras posted. A safe exit for the man that holds the future of the family in his hands. </em>
</p>
<p>
  
  <em>He was confused for a moment judging from his expression when Junhui turns to look at him, but Junhui tells him, “this is your only way out, alive that is, unless you want to die, then I suggest going out through the front door,” and he is glad that the man believed him, albeit hesitantly. Then he was out and saved. Junhui goes back to his duties, running through everything with practiced ease and familiarity of the routine. </em>
</p>
<p>
  
  <em>When he retires to his quarters, he pulls a pen and a paper, writes a letter and delivers it in the morning.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>What and who you need to know:</em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Choi Seungcheol— Vice Chairman with an eye for running the company. They may look like the closest friends, but I’m sure there’s a hidden agenda under all those firm handshakes and familial affection. I suggest keeping an eye out for him. </em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Park Seokmin— Chairman’s second son, I’m sure you’re quite familiar as to who he is after all, you two work closely together. </em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Park Mingyu— Grandson, sleeping disorder and unknown mental conditions. Father: Park Junki, murdered 15 years ago. I’m sure you heard the news.</em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Kwon Soonyoung— the journalist from the Forward Times. He has been paid a wealthy some of money to keep the truth of Park Junki’s death a secret from the media.  Park Junki was his insider source in the Park family.</em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Jeon Wonwoo— family doctor, formed an unofficial alliance with Park Seokmin and the family lawyer, Hong Jisoo, to poison the Chairman and forge his will.</em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Chwe Hansol— chief secretary. I advise you to be careful around him. He has underground connections and an unmatched loyalty to the Park family. Unquestionable. Maybe you’d want to keep him alive. </em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>That’s it for now. I have a feeling we will see and/or meet each other again soon.</em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Signed, </em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>W.Jun</em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>Addressed to: Xu Minghao</em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Junki, your visions for this family will finally come into fruition. Your death would no longer be in vain.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>*</p>
<p> </p>
<p>One by one, they enter the ballroom located on the second floor of the Park estate where the Party was said to be held, at least according to the invitation that they had received from a random sender.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Park Seokmin. </em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Xu Minghao.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Choi Seungcheol.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Park Mingyu.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Park Jeonghan.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Wen Junhui.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Lee Chan.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Kwon Soonyoung. </em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Jeon Wonwoo.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Hong Jisoo.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Chwe Hansol.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Lee Jihoon.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  <em>Boo Seungkwan.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Pleasantries and introductions were exchanged. Wine glasses clutched in dainty fingers and careful hands. Conversations held in hushed whispers, fake and polite smiles adorning one’s lips.</p>
<p>A piercing cry echoes and everyone runs to the source of the sound. They find Seungkwan lying in a pool of his own blood by the bottom of the staircase, crimson bleeding into the carpets turning it into a darker shade of red.</p>
<p>Then a distorted recorded voice,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>“I would like to extend my sincerest gratitude to all of you for accepting my invitation and coming to this Party I had hosted for you. I hope you liked my opening gift.” </em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Prosecutor Lee Chan mutters a curse under his breath. The others stay quiet, attentively listening.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>“Let’s play a special game, shall we? Starting now, the 13 people gathered in this house are going to die. The only way to get out of here alive is to find the culprit.” </em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>“No one gets to leave or call for any kind of external help until everything is solved and all secrets are spilled.” </em>
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    
  </strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>
    <em>“Good luck and let the games begin.”</em>
  </strong>
</p>
  </div></div>
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